Women
and Men ARE Equals in Jesus Christ

Part Two

Women, Don’t Keep Silent

God does NOT forbid women from teaching MEN either!

By Craig Bluemel

Some churches ban women from speaking during church
services and prohibit them from ever teaching a man, especially instructing him
from the scriptures.Below is an
anonymous quotation from an email I received at The Bible Answer Stand Ministry
website recently.

Dear Craig,

I was wondering, what your take on the 1Corinthians14:34 about women being "silent" in the church.I have heard many studies on this, and I
have one I like but I am not sure how accurate it is! I am not in the business
of manipulating the Word to fit my needs! And neither are you, so I will
be very interested to hear your study. What do you think about this?

1 Corinthians14:34 As in all the congregations of the saints, 34
women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but
must be in submission, as the Law says.35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their
own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the
church.36 Did the word of God
originate with you?Or are you the only
people it has reached?37 If
anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that
what I am writing to you is the Lord's command.38 If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.NewInternationalVersion

How often did Paul speak of the ‘law’? Is it
possible that verses 34 and 35 are verses about something that he was quoting
from a previous letter, which the Corinthians’ had written to him, inquiring
about these issues? It is as if they wrote Paul a letter, and then Paul
was replying to their inquiry with his response, using the words, “Did the word
of God originate with you?”

I realize the women were interrupting, and talking,
and asking questions and I am sure the men were irritated with that, but isn't
Paul responding to a letter from them to him about their concerns and issues of
the church? Isn't that what 1 Corinthians Chapter 14 is discussing,(i.e.
- a response to their questions)? So, if this is the case, then why could
he not be re-stating their question, as his response?Paul was not a big ‘law’ guy anyway, was he? He said the
law was nailed to the cross, right (Colossians 2:13-15) ? So, for him to say "as the Law
says" was not a common statement for him?Or was it?

Thanks for your help, Dianna

Dianna makes some really good points about the apostle
Paul’s teaching and views, particularly her point about the applicability of
the old covenant “Law’ in 1 Corinthians 14:37.Are women forbidden from ever teaching men in a Christian church?One might expect such disrespectful
treatment of women in pagan Muslim nations or in male dominated Asian cultures
and societies, because these are places where women are given about as much
respect as dogs and doormats.

In 1 Corinthians 14:34, the Greek word for, “keep
silence” in the King James Version is ‘sigaoo’ and literally, sigaoo
means, “to hold one's peace (to refrain from continued speaking further).”This Greek word sigaoo originates from a
root word sizo meaning, “to hush.”The essence of what Paul instructs in his letter to the church at
Corinth equivalent to telling someone that is noisy (e.g. – as in a public
library) to be silent using, “Shhhhhhh.”It means to, “hush.”

1 Corinthians 14:30-40

30-33Take your turn, no one person taking
over. 31Then each speaker gets a chance to say something special
from God, and you all learn from each other.32If you choose to speak, you’re also responsible for
how and when you speak.33
When we worship the right way, God doesn’t stir us up into confusion; he brings
us into harmony.This goes for all the
churches—no exceptions.”

34-35Wives must not disrupt worship,
talking when they should be listening, 35asking questions that
could more appropriately be asked of their husbands at home.God’s Book of the law guides our
manners and customs here.Wives
have no license to use the time of worship for unwarranted speaking.”

“36-38Do you, both women and men, imagine
that you’re a sacred oracle, determining what’s right and wrong?Do you think everything revolves around
you?37If any one of you
thinks God has something for you to say or has inspired you to do something,
pay close attention to what I have written.This is the way the Master wants it.38 If you won’t play by these rules, God can’t use you.
Sorry.

39-40Three things, then, to sum this up:
When you speak forth God’s truth, speak your heart out.Don’t tell people how they should or
shouldn’t pray when they’re praying in tongues that you don’t understand. 40Be courteous and considerate in
everything.”

(The Message Bible by Eugene Peterson 2002)

As you can see, the context does not forbid women from
speaking in church, but does say they should be courteous, and not
disruptive.This context mentionsboth women and men, and both were obviously
speaking (as sacred oracle) and teaching in the church, but they were not being
courteous and respectful in their customary rules, which rules were societal,
and governed guidelines for etiquette.Therefore, this chapter actually proves that women should be speaking
in church, but just like men who are careless at times, must work to be polite
and courteous, that’s all.The
entire context of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is a constant theme of the
marriage relationship, viewing and correcting as it pertains to different
aspects of life.

Those who misinterpret 1 Corinthians 14:34, “Let your women
keep silence in the churches,” are using poor Bible hermeneutics and faulty
logic as the only rationale for their rule governing church protocol.They allege that women “keeping silence” in
the churches is a commandment of God’s ‘law’ and they corroborate their
misinterpretation by saying the proof is in the phrase, “saith the law,” at the
end of 1 Corinthians 14:34 (see below).

1 Corinthians 14:34 As for the women, in the
assemblies, let them be silent, for it is not permitted them to be speaking; but
let them be in submission, —even as, the law, saith.

Let’s imagine for just a moment, that the ‘Law’ really
does specify that women are to be “keeping silence” in the church.On this basis, which Old Testament book,
chapter, and verses in the Law specify that women are forbidden to speak, “in
the church?”Hmmm?Jesus defined the parameters of ‘the Law’ in
Matthew 7:12, saying, “Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so
treat them, for this is the Law.”

Again, in the context of Matthew 22:36-40, when asked, ‘Which
is the greatest commandment in the Law,’ Jesus responded with the
greatest command (quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5), “’Love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest
commandment.”Then Jesus continued
and he quoted from Leviticus 19:18, “And the second commandment is like the
first, ‘Love your neighbor as you do yourself.’”He continued by saying, “All the Law
and the Prophets is summarize and depends upon these two
commandments.”

Every commandment in the Law is founded upon Yahweh’s
commands to love Him, and love each other as we love ourselves.This being the bedrock and foundation for
our interpretation of 1 Corinthians 14:34-37, the men who forbid women from
speaking or teaching in the church are violating the Law, because they are
refusing to treat these dear sisters as they treat their own selves.Are the men who set these rules in place and
enforce them loving their ‘women’ neighbor as they also love themselves?If the shoe fits, wear it or repent
men.

1 Timothy 1:5-7 But the goal of our
instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a
sincere faith. 6For some men, straying from these things, have
turned aside to fruitless discussion, 7wanting to be teachers
of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they
are sayingor the matters about which they make confident
assertions.New American Standard
Bible - Updated Edition

Metaphorically however, the ‘law,’ also has application
to cultural and societal rules as the norm, and/or standard of judging or
acting, as used in Romans 3:27; 7:23,25; 8:2,7; 9:31.The Greek term for ‘law’ also carries with it the sense of a rule
of life, discipline, as it is used in Philippians 3:5.1Reading a different version of In 1
Corinthians 14:34, The Message Bible by Eugene Peterson reads as follows:

1 Corinthians 14:34-35Wives
must not disrupt worship, talking when they should be listening, 35
asking questions that could more appropriately be asked of their husbands at
home.God’s Book of the law guides
our manners and customs here.Wives
have no license to use the time of worship for unwarranted speaking.”The Message Bible by Eugene Peterson 2002

This version hits it squarely on the nail head, and makes
much more sense, because it is translated in a way that gives reasonable
consideration to the context of chapter 14 of first Corinthians.

Christian Women
Teaching & Serving in Early Church

Manmade doctrinal traditions easily deceive people if
they do not search the scriptures daily, seeking the truth with an unbiased
mind and heart, and with the intent to obey what God says, regardless of what
price it may cost you.In part, spiritual
blindness rests upon those in church leadership that push the issue of
subjugating women in subservience to men on the basis of their gender identity.

Below are several scripture passages that clearly
illustrate the important and integral role that Christian women had in the
early churches. The only reason these
passages are not heeded and considered by those in control is due to motive,
not mere ignorance.

Colossians 4:15 Greet the brethren who are in
Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house.NASU

1 Timothy 5:9-10 Let no one be put on the roll
of widows who areto receive church support who is under sixty
years of age or who has been the wife of more than one man; 10 and she
must have a reputation for good deeds, as one who has brought up children,
who has practiced hospitality to strangers of the brotherhood, washed
the feet of the saints, helped to relieve the distressed, and devoted
herself diligently to doing good in every way.Amplified Bible

Nympha was a Christian woman,
whose house was the apparent meeting place for one of the house churches that
was located in Laodicea.No doubt she
was an older woman, although this is speculation, not clearly defined from the
text.Paul’s letter of instructions to
Timothy however, gives us insight about the way women functioned, and were even
financially supported by the church because of their reputation for
ministry!These women did, “good
deeds,” and each one, “devoted herself diligently to doing good
in every way.”

You don’t have to be a Greek
scholar to see the connection to the passage about women ministering to men and
women alike if you read your Bible regularly.In the context of Paul’s epistle to the Roman church (Read Romans
12:1-17), he exhorts everyone in the church to, “…to present your bodies a
living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service
of worship…” and to, “…prove what the will of God is, that which is good and
acceptable and perfect,” (Romans 12:1a, 2b).This statement is not limited to men, and further into the context, he
gives a command to everyone, men included, saying they ought, “…not to think
more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound
judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith,” (See Romans 12:5-9
with Hebrews 13:1, 7-8).

Persecuted
Christian Men & Women Preaching the Word

If
women were only ‘keeping silent’ as falsely alleged by church leaders today,
how do they explain the fact that, “men and women,” in the church were
persecuted, imprisoned and scattered, and therefore, as a result, those men and
women who escaped, scattered abroad, and went about ‘preaching the word?’

Acts 8:3-4 But Saul began ravaging the church,
entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them
in prison.4 Therefore, those
who had been scattered went about preaching the word. New American Standard
Bible - Updated Edition

If you read Acts
12:1-17, which is the account of Peter’s arrest & imprisonment by king
Herod, after the king had James, the brother of John put to death by the
sword.God heard the prayers of the
church however, and an angel was sent to deliver Peter from his chains.When Peter came to his senses, and realized
he’d been set free, where do you suppose he went?To the local church eldership of men?To his local male pastor?Not hardly, read this portion of the passage from Acts 12 below:

Acts 12:11-14 When Peter came to himself, he
said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued
me from the hand of Herod…”12
And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of
John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together
and were praying.13
When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda
came to answer.14 When she
recognized Peter's voice, because of her joy she did not open the
gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front
of the gate. New American Standard Bible - Updated Edition

There are literally
dozens of scripture that testify of the equality of women and men
believers.In Paul’s closing remarks,
written by his scribe in chapter 16 of the Roman epistle, he mentions by name
several women who worked as he did for the gospel, even laboring side by side
with him, which meant these women were also teaching!

Romans 16:1-6 I commend to you our sister
Phoebe, who is a servant of the churchwhich is at Cenchrea;
2 that you receive herin the Lord in a manner worthy
of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need
of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.3Greet Prisca (*NOTE:
Prisca is also the name of Priscilla) and Aquila, my fellow workers
in Christ Jesus, 4who for my life risked their own necks, to
whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles;
5 also greet the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my
beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia. 6Greet
Mary, who has worked hard for you.New American Standard Bible - Updated Edition

1 Corinthians 16:19Aquila and Priscagreet you heartily in the Lord, with the church
that is in their house. New American Standard Bible - Updated Edition

1Corinthians1:10-13 Now I
exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree
and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the
same mind and in the same judgment.11
For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people,
that there are quarrels among you.12
Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and
"I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of
Christ."13 Has Christ been
divided?Paul was not crucified for
you, was he?Or were you baptized in
the name of Paul?New American Standard
Bible - Updated Edition

Philemon1-31:1 Paul, a prisoner of
Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved brother and
fellow worker, 2 and to Apphia our sister, and to
Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: 3
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.New American Standard Bible - Updated
Edition

1 Peter 5:12-13 With the help of Silas, whom I
regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you
and testifying that this is the true grace of God.Stand fast in it.13She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you
her greetings, and so does my son Mark.New International Version

2 John 1, 4 –5, 8, 12-13The elderto the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth;
and not only I, but also all who know the truth… 4 I was very glad to
find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have
received commandment to do from the Father. 5 Now I ask you, lady,
not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we
have had from the beginning, that we love one another… 8 Watch
yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but
that you may receive a full reward… 12 Though I have many things to write to
you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to
come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full.
13 The children of your chosen sister greet you.New American Standard Bible - Updated
Edition

The entire epistle of 2 John is written to the woman
addressed to the, “lady,” which is a mistranslation; in reality, Cyria was a
Christian woman, who was a shepherd/elder of the church.Strong's defines “lady” as follows:

~My Wife Pammy
& I ~

Co-Laborers in
service to our Lord Jesus

I want to brag on my own sweet wife a bit here; please
allow me to digress, as you will find what is said compelling and convicting; I
ought to know, I live with her!In
1992, though she had been a Christian for many years at the time, my wife Pam decided
to deepen her relationship with God thru daily reading of the Bible.an enthusiastic reader of Christian books,
magazines, etc, Pam now devoted herself to reading thru the One-Year Bible
every day, as it is planned in the protocol arranged by Zondervan publishers,
which includes a daily personal reading of:

One scripture passage from one of the Old
Testament books

One scripture passage from one
of the New Testament books

A short reading from Psalms
& short reading from Proverbs

For over twelve years now, my wife has read the Bible cover
to cover!Her memory retention is
incredible, and quite often, as I do my studies in scripture, if I need to know
where a Bible verse reference is, she almost always knows the book of the
Bible, chapter and range of the verse I am looking for!

Furthermore, my shy, reserved, not-people-oriented
personality-type wife willingly and ably stepped into my place as the shepherd
of a house church we started several years ago.She took over this responsibility, when I became physically
disabled due to a series of surgeries and other chronic conditions, which
rendered me incapable of speaking without causing excruciating pain and serious
headaches.She also took over our
biweekly ministry to a blessed sister and her seven children, who at the time,
lived in Tacoma’s hilltop area.I’d met
Deneen one afternoon while doing some one-on-one street outreach evangelism;
she was a newly saved, deeply committed Christian woman, from an
African-American ethnicity, and was with her son Akeem and she was also
evangelizing the ‘Hilltop,’ as locals call it.

The Hilltop was Deneen’s neighborhood, and every day she
need only look out her front door to see the violence and illegal activities,
for which Tacoma-hilltop area gained notoriety because of its troublesome gang
warfare, drug trafficking, drive-by shootings, and all manner of criminal
activity.It was in this environment,
where sin was at its utmost, that the grace and mercy of God for salvation
became manifest even bigger!But with
seven children, Deneen needed support and some Christian friends that would be
there, in hard times, and all times, and would go the long haul for her
family.She had been disappointed many
other times by Christian men, who said they wanted to help, but did not follow
thru.

My wife and I would make regular trips to see them, and
help them out with groceries, and celebrate birthdays, and try to help them
experience some kind of ‘normal’ life in this tough inner-city area, when I was
unable, they feared not seeing either of us.When I became ill, it devastated Deneen, and Keemo, one of her seven
children, (4 children were her offspring and 4 children she adopted, out of her
huge heart of love, because they had no parents to care for them, or who wasn’t
incarcerated with a lengthy prison term sentence).Pam not only continued this sacrifice of love, but she also got
John and Dianne, an awesome Christian married couple, who have for years hosted
our house church fellowship.The three
of them, Pam, John and Dianne have been making the 120 mile round trip trek to
see Deneen and her children for the past several years!

Now we all Christian men like to consider ourselves
knowledgeable in the Word of God, and some of us have even made New Year’s
resolutions to read the entire Bible this year.We make the same proposition year after year.How many of us born-again Christians have
actually read the entire Bible, from Genesis thru Revelation,
even once, let alone every year?How
many have ventured into the inner city to do much needed gospel outreach and
touch the lives of the hurting and help the poor and needy?

Any husband who is married to the kind of Christian woman
that my own wife is like, will attest to the fact her spirituality exceeds his
own, and she has working knowledge of the scripture, and she comprehends
spiritual things equal to and greater than myself.This being true worldwide, how can any reasonable church elder,
or shepherd forbid women from making a contribution to what is spoken in church?On this note, consider how integral women
were in the early church, hosting churches in their homes, teaching, and doing
all manner of hospitality as servants of Christ the Lord!

My hope is that this series of studies will start adding
its contribution of truth to that of others, and thru prayer and repentance,
and obedience to the truth, God will set Christian women free from the bondage
of a male gender caste system in the churches.SELAH